Posts Tagged ‘employee benefits administrator’

What are Multiple Employer Plans? Part 1

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

Have you heard people talking about Multiple Employer Plans? Are you curious as to what these are? This series of  blog posts will help you understand the terminology and the benefits of offering Multiple Employer Plans for your business.

Let’s start with some relevant terms:

Multiple Employer Plan (MEP): A retirement plan for businesses that typically have
a common interest, but are not commonly owned or affiliated.

Multiple Employer Plan Sponsor (MEP Sponsor): The organization that sponsors and maintains the MEP and master contract under which adopting employers may adopt a retirement plan; An example of organizations that may sponsor an MEP include a professional employer organization (PEO), or a professional association.

Adopting Employer: The term used to describe an employer that participates in an MEP.

A few Advantages of Multiple Employer Plans:

  1. MEP’s offer great potential as a savings option for small-business owners who want to provide their employees the same flexible features and benefits of a traditional 401(k) plan.
  2. If you are a small businesses you probably have a unique retirement plan-related needs, and very different concerns about the cost of administering a retirement plan than a larger company, therefore, a MEP would be very beneficial.
  3. The MEP structure also offers flexibility for small business owners to remain in this plan construct or to easily graduate to a stand-alone plan when they are ready.

If you are interested in Multiple Employer Plans it’s important to contact your Employee Benefit Adviser.

Stay tuned for the next blog with more information on MEP’s.

Resource: TRANSAMERICA Retirement Services

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Posted in Employee Benefits, Multiple Employer Plans | 1 Comment »

Starting with a 5K – Ending with a Triathlon, Part 3

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

Training for a half marathon is the third part of our sequence of blogs. Now that you have completed a 5K and a 10K a half marathon is next step in order to ultimately complete a triathlon. Before you start any training be it for a 5K or a half marathon 13.1 miles, you should regularly run. If you’re a beginning runner, it’s always a good idea to consult your doctor before starting anything as strenuous as training for a half marathon especially if you’re over age 35 or 40.

Here is a schedule that is based on a simple philosophy — using the mid-week runs for conditioning and feeling out your proper pace, and using the once-per-week long runs to get you mentally prepared for running 13 miles.

Make sure that you keep in mind the terms from our last blog post such as rest days, water consumption, walking and taking breaks. Training for any type of race should be fun and it can help you complete your overall health and wellness goals. Good luck training for a half marathon.

12-Week Training Schedule

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Week 1 off 3 miles 3 miles 3 miles off 3 miles 4 miles
Week 2 off 3 miles 4 miles 3 miles off 3 miles 4 miles
Week 3 off 3 miles 4 miles 3 miles off 3 miles 5 miles
Week 4 off 3 miles 5 miles 3 miles off 4 miles 6 miles
Week 5 off 4 miles 5 miles 4 miles off 3 miles 7 miles
Week 6 off 4 miles 4 miles 4 miles off 4 miles 8 miles
Week 7 off 4 miles 6 miles 4 miles off 4 miles 9 miles
Week 8 off 4 miles 6 miles 4 miles off 4 miles 10 miles
Week 9 off 4 miles 6 miles 4 miles off 3 miles 11 miles
Week 10 off 4 miles 5 miles 4 miles off 4 miles 12 miles
Week 11 off 4 miles 5 miles 4 miles off 3 miles 6 miles
Week 12 off 3 miles 5 miles 3 miles off 2 miles 13.1 miles!

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Music, Laughter, & Your Health

Friday, March 25th, 2011

When is the last time you laughed out loud? When is the last time you listened to a good song? In a recent article on CNN.com it explains that researchers found that people who took part in bimonthly group sessions built around music or laughter lowered their systolic blood pressure (the top number in the reading) by an average of five to six points after three months. By contrast, the average blood-pressure reading in a control group that received neither therapy didn’t budge.

This shows that there must be a psychological effect happening. The heart and mind are very much connected and using these types of alternative remedies to lower blood pressure are very promising.

Here are 5 ways to fight stress and help your heart:

    1. Focus on relaxation - stress-reduction techniques and exercises such as yoga, meditation, and tai chi have been shown to lower stress hormones and bolster immune function.
    2. Connect with friends – spending extra time with friends can help not only with your mental health, but with your heart health. Laughing and sharing experiences together are very healthy activities for the entire body.
    3. Don’t hold grudges - research suggests that people experience more psychological stress and higher heart rates when they hold grudges than when they grant forgiveness.
    4. Laugh & lighten up – laughter can burn up to 20% more calories than keeping that poker face, according to a 2005 study, which monitored adults while they watched funny and not-so-funny film clips.
    5. Cut the caffeine – caffeine can quickly raise your fight-or-flight response and all the attendant stress hormones.

      We hope these tips will help you stay healthy. Health and wellness are very important, especially if you are struggling with stress at work. Make sure you understand the importance of your employee’s health and overall wellness.

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      You hired a new employee – now what?

      Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

      When you are working with new employees and addressing an enrollment plan there are some very important steps to take. Here are a few of the steps to help you make the process flow from the beginning to the end. Even if your HR department takes care of these steps, it’s important as an employer or an employee to be aware of the process. 

        1. Provide the new employee with a pre-employment benefits newsletter.
        2. Make sure the employee has the links to all online forms so they can review coverage options.
        3. Supply the new employee with information for registering on carrier website.
        4. Speak with the employee regarding for for spouse. For example the spousal allowance compliance form.
        5. Provide the employee with a benefits comparison if multiple plans are offered.
        6. Make sure the employee is aware of all annual notices required by federal and state law.

          After the employee has gone through eligibility the next step is to address the follow items.

            1. Speak with the employee on how claims are filed, processed and the general time it takes for turnaround.
            2. How to resolve claim issues and who to speak with.
            3. Procedures to address questions and concerns.
            4. Makes sure the employee has all ID cards ad they are printed correctly.

              If you have questions regarding any of these steps it’s important to speak with your employee benefit adviser.

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              Is Your PEO Still Serving Your Needs?

              Friday, February 11th, 2011

              Our last blog on PEOs (Professional Employer Organization) was very popular; therefore, we are excited to write another one. It is the perfect time to address this topic because recently BayPoint Benefits Managing Directors, Brian Hassan and Justin Roberts were featured in ‘Best Practices and in Compensation and Benefits.’ In this article they discuss the hidden costs of PEOs as well as making it a point to be educated on the advantages and disadvantages of this employment arrangement.

              In this post we would like to point out that the most important part of making the decision about weather or not to stay with a PEO is education and understanding. As mentioned in the recent article, “Companies need to decide from a business standpoint, looking at hard dollar and soft dollar costs, what is the best fit for their organization.” if you are reading this stop for a moment and think, have you thought of these costs? It’s so easy to talk about savings and planning strategies to help with this, but it’s more important to look at the exact costs and how they are impacting your business. Understanding the services you are paying for is the most important aspect of the education process.

              Important questions to ask yourself regarding PEOs:

              1. Are you being billed for high HR administration costs?
              2. Do you have limited insurance carriers?
              3. Are you satisfied with the total benefit package?
              4. Are your premiums increasing?
              5. Is your company outgrowing your PEO?

              For more information regarding PEOs contact your benefits consultant.

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              15 Keywords To Understand Your Health Insurance – Part 2

              Thursday, January 20th, 2011

              Here you can find 15 more keywords that will help you when you are speaking with your benefits consultant.

              To finish off the alphabet.

              1. Medicare: This is a federally-sponsored healthcare program that offers coverage for medical and hospital care primarily to those over the age of 65.

              2. Network: This refers to the groups of doctors, hospitals and other medical professionals who have been contracted to provide discounted healthcare services to your insurance carrier’s customers.

              3. Out-of-Network: This term typically refers to any doctors, hospitals or other healthcare providers considered to be non-participants by your insurance plan (HMO, POS, or PPO). Depending on your plan’s guidelines, services provided by out-of-plan providers may not be covered, or only covered in part.

              4. POS: Point-of-Service Plan. A POS is a managed healthcare plan that combines the features of a Health Maintenance Organization and a Preferred Provider Organization. These plans allow you to decide whether or not you’ll use an in-network provider or an out-of-network provider.

              5. Pre-existing Conditions: This refers to any healthcare issues you had prior to your insurance plan’s effective date. Many policies will refuse to cover pre-existing conditions, while others do so only for a short time.

              6. PPO: Preferred Provider Organization. PPOs are networks of healthcare providers who have negotiated discount contracts with health insurance carriers. Your healthcare provider decisions will be up to you, but there are generally financial incentives for you to select providers within your PPO network.

              7. Preventative Care: Health services that focus solely on preventative care measures such as physical exams, immunizations, diagnostic tests and mammograms.

              8. Premium: The dollar amount you’ll pay on a monthly basis in exchange for your insurance coverage.

              9. Primary Care Physician: Most HMOs and POS plans will require you to select one family physician, pediatrician or internist to monitor your health, treat most of your health problems, and refer you to specialists when necessary.

              10. Provider: This term refers to any individual (nurse, physician, or specialist) or institution (clinic, hospital, or laboratory) that provides you with care.

              11. Rider: This refers to any policy attachment that makes additions or changes to your original insurance plan.

              12. Short Term Health Insurance: This type of healthcare plan is purchased to provide you with benefits during coverage gaps between jobs, after a move, or while you’re traveling overseas.

              13. Small Business Health Insurance: This is a type of healthcare coverage that is available to businesses employing between two and fifty employees. It offers discounted premiums to employees and tax advantages to small business owners; also in most cases, the coverage cannot be denied.

              14. Travel Health Insurance: This insurance is purchased to provide you with coverage when you’re traveling abroad.

              15. Waiting Period: This refers to a pre-specified time period during which you will not be covered by your insurance (for a particular healthcare issue).

              Reference: www.ctindividualhealth.com/glossary.html

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              Looking into 2011 – Health Reform Implementation

              Wednesday, January 5th, 2011

              Happy New Year to all! 2010 was a very eventful year for health reform and 2011 will be as well. Here are some hot topics you should expect to see in the new year.

              1. A NEW SPENDING BILL: The outgoing Congress was able to approve a temporary budget to fund the federal government into early March, based on current appropriations levels. That means there was no money for agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services to pay for the implementation of health reform, from monitoring the development of state insurance exchanges to awarding grants to reviewing insurance rate hikes.

              2. THE INDIVIDUAL MANDATE: Lawsuits contesting the constitutionality of the individual mandate to purchase health insurance will continue to wind their way to a likely Supreme Court decision. While the Supreme Court isn’t likely to take up the case until 2012, big lower court decisions will be handed down in the coming year.

              3. STATE IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS: States will need to make significant strides forward to make sure they are prepared to implement health reform’s most important components in 2014, especially insurance exchanges. Keep an eye on states with newly elected Republican governors, especially Florida, to see whether they resist moving ahead on health reform and how the federal government responds.

              4. MEDICAL LOSS RATIO: New regulations requiring insurance companies to spend at least 80 percent of premium dollars on medical care will take effect. Keep an eye on how many states request exemptions out of fear that the regulations could destabilize their insurance markets.

              If you have any questions regarding these topics be sure to contact your benefits consultant.

              Reference: IBM Center for The Business of Government

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              Voluntary Benefits- Are you Confused?

              Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

              In a recent conversation with the CEO of a start-up company in San Francisco, the words “voluntary benefits” were used in a discussion about benefits and he answered with “what?” If you are reading this, have you asked yourself what voluntary benefits are? We have the answer. BayPoint has done a few blog posts about voluntary benefits; however, it’s time to do another one!

              So the question is what are voluntary benefits? Voluntary benefits are a cost-effective tactic for enriching a company’s offerings for employees. Voluntary benefits can include flexible spending accounts, pet insurance, entertainment and hotel discounts. For a small company that wants to establish its brand and be an employer of choice who is competing with larger more developed companies for top talent, voluntary benefits are an excellent offering. You can sell your company by saying, “Not only do you get all medical benefits, but you get voluntary benefits as well.”

              An example of something a company could implement is a green fund. If you company is committed to being green and believes in sustainability you can reflect something of this matter through your benefits. You could add a green fund to your pension scheme by creating a “Benefits Extra” package to your employees, which would help spread your green message.

              Some people believe that voluntary benefits require too much administration from your HR department, however, this is not true, if you are having problems with this issue, there may be some things that your employee benefits consultant can help you with. It’s important to work with an employee benefit consultant who can really help you improve your benefit communication and most importantly help educate your employees.

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